NEWS WEAKLY 160 – 24th May, 2025

This week on News Weakly, we dive into a whirlwind of political betrayal, retirement robberies, literary cancellations, and Oval Office psychodramas—with more twists than a Barnaby Joyce comeback tour.

Top Stories of the Week:

• ARE LIBS AND NATS ON THE NEXT SEASON OF MAFS?
• TAXING MODELS MODEL TAXES!
• TRUMP FINDS A GENOCIDE HE CAN ACKNOWLEDGE!
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Quote of the Week:

“Michael McCormack says he’s ‘ambitious for’ David Littleproud—the same way Brutus was ambitious for Caesar.”

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NEWS WEAKLY 159 – EDITORIAL EDITION

A podcast where we punch the news in the headlines… weakly.

Title: The Hypernormalisation of Journalistic Jingoism 

Summary:

A few weeks ago, India and Pakistan were one bad decision away from nuclear war. But you wouldn’t know that from the news coverage. You’d think Karachi had been flattened, Pakistani generals were surrendering en masse, and Indian fighter jets had laser-blasted their way to the gates of Islamabad—if you watched Indian TV news, that is. Spoiler: none of it happened. What did happen was a masterclass in disinformation, state propaganda, media jingoism, and the dangerous, ridiculous, terrifying theatre of war-as-content.

In this special editorial edition, Sami Shah takes a blowtorch to the concept of hypernormalisation—where fake news becomes realer than truth, and everyone knows it’s bullshit but plays along anyway. From the USS Maine to Vietnam, from Colin Powell's slideshow to Karachi’s imaginary destruction to from Pakistan’s own delusions—we trace the long, painful, deeply stupid history of war narratives shaped not by fact, but by flag-waving fantasy.

And we end where it matters most: here in Australia. With one last bastion against this wave of reality-denial. A flawed, bald-headed, beige-toned but vital institution: the ABC. Why public broadcasting matters more than ever. And why we lose it at our peril.

Quote of the Week:

“I don’t know why but there needs to be a study into whether approving another season of Hard Quiz results in male pattern baldness or being bald predisposes one to approving another season of Spicks and Specks.”

Support the Show

Like your news satire free-range, cruelty-free, and ad-free?

Join the News Weakly Patreon at patreon.com/samishah for scripts, exclusives, and bonus content.

Credits

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music “Historic Anticipation” by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NEWS WEAKLY 158 – 17th May, 2025

A podcast where we punch the news in the headlines... weakly.

Top Stories of the Week

Liberals and Greens crowd the glass cliff!

Donald Trump goes shopping for Gulf influence and possibly a jet!

Instagram’s algorithm recommends children to predators!

Quote of the Week

“Women aren’t being given opportunities for leadership—they’re being forced into disaster babysitting.”

Support the Show

Like your news satire free-range, cruelty-free, and ad-free?

Join the News Weakly Patreon at patreon.com/samishah for scripts, exclusives, and bonus content.

Credits

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NEWS WEAKLY 157 – 10th May, 2025

A podcast where we punch the news in the headlines... weakly.

Top Stories of the Week

India and Pakistan compete in new drone-catching sport!

A collection of post-election misconceptions!

A Woke Pope!

Quote of the Week

“NewsCorp is the herpes of media empires: just because you can’t see it right now doesn’t mean it’s not about to flare up again.”

Support the Show

Like your news satire free-range, cruelty-free, and ad-free?

Join the News Weakly Patreon at patreon.com/samishah for scripts, exclusives, and bonus content.

Credits

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NEWS WEAKLY – 156 (5th May, 2025): Post-Election Dissection and Erection

Every week, Sami Shah (ABC, The Gadfly)—comedian, journalist, and award-winning writer of words—copies the news stories off of a website then pretends like he wrote them himself, then starts a debate about who actually does own the news, while claiming he didn't copy, just takes inspiration very very literally.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

Peter Dutton gives orgasms!

The Greens are green with envy!

Who polls the pollsters!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“A man whose idea of unity was dog-whistling so loudly even actual dogs said, ‘Mate, bit much.’”

– On Peter Dutton's leadership style

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Love News Weakly? Keep it funded by joining the Patreon:

patreon.com/samishah

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music ‘Historic Anticipation’ by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week, Sami Shah (ABC, The Gadfly)—comedian, journalist, and award-winning writer of words—copies the news stories off of a website then pretends like he wrote them himself, then starts a debate about who actually does own the news, while claiming he didn't copy, just take inspiration very very literally.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

Election Shenanigans!

Also, India and Pakistan rattle sabres!

And, Canada votes, no one cares!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It’s American culture without the calories and chronic diarrhoea.” – On Australia’s election season cosplay chaos

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Love News Weakly? Keep it funded by joining the Patreon:

👉 patreon.com/samishah

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music ‘Historic Anticipation’ by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NEWS WEAKLY – EPISODE 154

“Consistency of Hypocrisy” – 19 April, 2025

TOP OPINION OF THE WEEK:

Guantanamo never closed, the rules-based order never applied, and now the cruelty once exported is finally coming home.

Also:

• Australians detained and deported from the US despite valid visas
• Transgender travellers profiled and imprisoned in Villawood
• Peter Dutton wants to cancel your citizenship
• And Trump’s latest plan? Outsourcing US citizens to El Salvadoran prisons!

From offshore detention to ICE raids, from CIA coups to the maskless face of empire, this week we look at what happens when systems built for them start turning on us—and why moral consistency, not just outrage, is what really matters.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“If you only care when it’s you, that’s not morality. That’s narcissism with an accent.”

Support the Show:

Listen ro News Weakly ad-free by joining Sami on Patreon: patreon.com/samishah

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music: “Historic Anticipation” by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week, Sami Shah (ABC, The Gadfly)—comedian, journalist, and award-winning writer of words—pick the news up off the floor, holds it up to the light, stares at it closely, inspects it carefully, then decides the 3-second rule still applies and pop it into his mouth.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

TRUMP’S ART OF THE NEW TARIFF!

DEBATE CLUBBED!

DEATH ZONE DIPLOMACY!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Wall Street shat itself. But I invest in 90s comics, so I’m recession-proof and emotionally bankrupt.”— Sami Shah on the Trump tariff fallout

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Love News Weakly? Keep it funded by joining the Patreon:

👉 patreon.com/samishah

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music ‘Historic Anticipation’ by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week, Sami Shah (ABC, The Gadfly)—comedian, journalist, and award-winning writer of words—put the ew in news.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

Riffing Tariffs!

Monsters in Mandalay!

Le Love and Le Law is Blind!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Fairness is for nerds and this school runs on vibes and vengeance.”

— On Trump’s lunchroom approach to global trade policy.

💸 SUPPORT THE SHOW

Join the Patreon at patreon.com/samishah

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week, Sami Shah (ABC, The Gadfly)—comedian, journalist, and award-winning writer of words—cuts the breaks on the news cycle and watches it pedal into traffic.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

Budget Bribes Australians for Cheap!

Salmon Fishing in The Tassie!

Pro-Palestine Protests Rock Gaza—Against Hamas!

Meta’s Literary Heist!

Support the Show!

• Ad-free episodes & discounts ➡️ Patreon.com/SamiShah

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.